Commanders reportedly admit defeat in Brandon Aiyuk trade pursuit – Dean Jones, RiggosRag.com

Washington’s dream will not be coming true.

The Washington Commanders have been constantly linked with a trade for wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk this offseason. His contract stalemate coupled with the player’s close relationship with quarterback Jayden Daniels left many thinking this would be the perfect landing spot for the prolific pass-catcher. Something that would provide the franchise with a legitimate one-two punch alongside Terry McLaurin.

Adam Peters called his old employers earlier this offseason with an inquiry but nothing concrete emerged. It seemed as if the San Francisco 49ers would work something out with the wideout, but there’s a growing belief that a parting of the ways could be imminent.

Aiyuk’s next destination hasn’t been determined as yet. However, it doesn’t look like the former first-round pick will reunite with his old college teammate.

Commanders reportedly out of the running for Brandon Aiyuk

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According to Matt Maiocco from NBC Sports, the Commanders were one of a handful of teams Aiyuk was permitted to speak to about a long-term extension. The reporter added that Washington and the Pittsburgh Steelers are now out of the running, leaving the Cleveland Browns and New England Patriots as the most likely trade partners very shortly.

Whether it was Aiyuk’s contract demands or the compensation attached to this transaction remains to be seen. Peters knows how good the wideout is. But if the financial commitment or draft picks required to acquire him didn’t fit into the Commanders’ long-term plans for progress, pulling the plug was always likely.

This will be disappointing to some fans. Perhaps even to Aiyuk and Daniels themselves given how they’ve been joined at the hip almost all offseason.

Nothing has been confirmed one way or another, but an end to this long-running saga isn’t far off. If this report is accurate and the Commanders have thrown in the towel, they’ll have to make do with what they have in the wideout room and hope Daniels can elevate them accordingly.

Daniel Jones explains involvement in Lions-Giants joint-practice scuffle: ‘You try to stand up for guys’ – Nick Shook, NFL.com

A fiery side of Daniel Jones was seen at a joint practice with Detroit.

Joint practices tend to breed animosity. Just ask the New York Giants.

The G-Men found themselves in a few scraps during their Monday session with the Detroit Lions, a day that grew to become so chippy even quarterback Daniel Jones got involved in the fracas.

Jones was eventually pulled from the scrum by a coach, per SNY, but not before he was able to get involved enough to earn some respect from his teammates.

“Oh lord … Daniel got jiggy with it?” Giants edge rusher Brian Burns said after Monday’s practice, per SNY. “Daniel was out there with it? Yeah! I’m [going to] need him to back up. I’m [going to] need him to back up, let his O-line handle that. But yeah, nah Daniel, he’s a competitor man, he’s a fighter. I don’t expect nothing less from him, but I don’t need him in that, I don’t need him to get hit, keep him healthy.”

Jones was asked about the incident afterward and downplayed his involvement.

“I mean, situation happens like that, you try to stand up for your guys but I thought it was a good competitive practice all day today,” Jones said, per FOX Sports. “We made some plays and did some good things, there’s some things we need to [shore] up for sure. But good intensity and competitive spirit there.”

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Some coaches despise in-practice fights, because it robs them of quality time intended to improve. But with hot weather and the natural competitive environment of joint practices, so too come some occasional spats.

Execution is the goal. Jones can provide moral support from outside the fight the next time one (inevitably) breaks out.

Saquon Barkley calls 50,000 fans at Eagles’ practice ‘truly insane’ – Alexis Chassen, BleedingGreenNation.com

The Philly fandom is already showing out for Saquon Barkley and company.

For the first six seasons of his NFL career, Saquon Barkley only knew Lincoln Financial Field, and the Eagles fans that fill it, from the visitor locker room. After signing with the Eagles this offseason, Barkley had his first taste of his new home at last week’s open practice, and he was blown away.

Speaking to reporters after Monday’s training camp practice, the running back lauded the environment and expressed his appreciation to the fans.

“That one was crazy, I’m not gonna lie. I already knew how much love this city has for, not only this team, but all the teams around here, but for a practice to have 50,000 is truly insane.

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So, thank you to all those fans that came out and showed love and support.

That’s big. It’s helps us as a team, and it makes us want to go out there — you kinda get like a college feel again. Like when I was in college, you don’t want noone to come into Beaver Stadium and get a win there, you get that feel here.”

Barkley said he was shown a lot of love as he exited the home team tunnel for his very first time, and noted that he appreciates how much this team means to the fans.

Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov “did not sleep for two days” after being defaulted from the Citi Open in Washington D.C.

Shapovalov automatically lost his ranking points and prize money after the default but they were reinstated after his appeal against the decision.

The 25-year-old will still pay a fine of $36,400 (£28,655) as punishment for swearing in the direction of a spectator while match point down against the United States’ Ben Shelton in their quarterfinal match last Friday.

Speaking in a press conference before the National Bank Open in Montreal, Shapovalov said he even considered skipping his home tournament after the decision.

“There was a moment after the match where I felt like it was so unfair that I wasn’t sure if I was even going to play this week,” he said. “Play at all, for that matter. I felt like it was really something that was taken away from me for nothing big that I did.”

Shapovalov was initially given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct, having also thrown his racket to the ground twice before swearing in the direction of the stands, appearing to say “what the f*** are you talking about?”

Chair umpire Greg Allensworth then called tournament supervisor Roland Herfel to the court, before deciding to default Shapovalov from the match.

Shapovalov clarified during the press conference that he was “talking to my box”, adding “this could easily have been a code for verbal obscenity, whatever you want to call it”, referring to the usual code violation handed out for an audible obscenity.

Shapovalov had skipped the 2024 Paris Olympic Games to play in Washington D.C., in order to accrue rankings points (players do not earn points for playing at the Olympics). He moves up 33 places from No 139 to No 106, getting closer to being in contention for a main draw spot at the US Open, which begins August 26.

It was his second time being defaulted from a match, but in very different circumstances. In the 2017 Davis Cup, he volleyed a ball in frustration that accidentally struck chair umpire Arnaud Gabas in the eye.

The ATP said officials had followed the correct procedure in defaulting Shapovalov. “However, the committee has concluded that loss of rankings points and prize money, which is automatically applied in the case of a default, would be a disproportionate penalty in this case,” it added.

“Shapovalov therefore retains quarter-final points and prize money, with a fine of $36,400 applied for the code violation.”

Shapovalov said he was “very lucky” to be getting his points back. “That’s where I think the rules need to change,” he added. “It’s got to be dependent on the situation whether or not you lose your points or money for the entire week.

“I could easily have gone home with negative money and zero points. It’s something that needs to change in tennis.”

Russia’s Andrey Rublev had a similar successful appeal after being defaulted from the Doha semifinal against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, also for swearing, this time in the direction of a line judge. His ranking points and prize money — on that occasion 200 points and around $160,000 (£125,976) — were reinstated, but he also had to pay a fine of $36,400.

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Rublev’s default in Dubai is exactly why tennis needs electronic line calling

(Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

An ink-wash drawing once owned by President George Washington will be going under the hammer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The work of art, “The Destruction of the Bastille,” will be offered as a part of Freeman’s | Hindman Books and Manuscripts auction.

The piece drawn in 1789 was personally gifted to Washington by French military commander Marquis de Lafayette, according to a press release from the auction house, which is headquartered in New York City.

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Notably, Major General Lafayette helped lead the Continental Army’s victory at Yorktown, Virginia, that ended the American Revolution in Oct. 1781.

George Washington “was taken by the young man’s ebullience and profound dedication to the American cause,” writes the Washington Library of Mount Vernon. 

The drawing was “made at the onset of the French Revolution and only weeks after the Bastille fell” and was one of the two gifts Lafayette sent to Washington on behalf of France’s appreciation for the American president,” according to Freeman’s | Hindman auction house.

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The other was a main key to the Bastille prison, serving as a symbol of victory against French royal oppression.

The drawing was one of “Washington’s most cherished possessions,” according to Freeman’s | Hindman. The work of art will go under the hammer at the auction house’s location on Market Street in Philadelphia this September. (Heritage Images via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“The drawing would become one of Washington’s most cherished possessions, hanging prominently in the presidential house during his two terms, and then in the entryway of his Mount Vernon home, even after his death,” said the auction house’s press release.

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Before going under the hammer, the famed piece will return home on an international tour starting with a stop in Paris, France.

It will then be shown in New York and Chicago before heading to Philadelphia, the auction house said. 

Proceeds from th.sale of “The Destruction of the Bastille” will be split 50/50 with the Shriners Hospital for Children in Florida and the Masonic Charity Foundation of Connecticut to benefit each organization’s mission. (Freeman’s | Hindman; Heritage Images / Getty Images)

“It seems only fitting that it returns to Paris, the heart of French democracy, before being sold in Philadelphia, the cradle of American democracy. I can only imagine Washington and Lafayette would have appreciated the symmetry,” Darren Winston, senior vice president and co-head of Freeman’s | Hindman Books and Manuscripts department told FOX Business in a statement via email.

He also said, “Freeman’s | Hindman is extraordinarily proud to offer this incredible testament to the power of liberty over oppression.”

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The auction will be held on Sept. 10. The work is art is estimated to sell for between $500,000 and $800,000.

All proceeds from the sale will be split 50/50 with the Shriners Hospital for Children, headquartered in Florida, and the Masonic Charity Foundation of Connecticut to benefit each organization’s mission.